Jono
Virat Kohli (c)
I was hoping Yuvraj would score today, because I’ve been planning on making a thread regarding his ODI exploits for a while, and since he delivered for me, I figured I may as well do it now. Particularly since Manee brought something similar up in the official Pak in India thread.
Its become quite common knowledge that Yuvraj Singh has turned into a fantastic ODI batsman over the last two years. So much so that he’s almost become the marquee player of the Indian ODI batting line-up, possibly taking over from Tendulkar in that sense.
Whilst always a fan of his style, he has probably become my favourite player in international cricket over the last two years, so much so that I am constantly accused by my mates of being homosexually attracted to him due to my fanboy like behaviour when he does anything of any note. The reason for the attention he receives is pretty obvious. He’s an attractive batsman to watch, extremely aggressive, still very young and probably what’s best about him IMO, is his counter-attacking style when his team is staring down the barrel. Today was another example where after steadying the ship following a few wickets, he chose the perfect moment to counter-attack just when Pakistan were beginning to get on top. Added to that is his obvious athleticism, quick-running between the wickets, fantastic fielding and ability to roll his arm over when needed (aspects which were always there) make him a perfect modern ODI player. And now he's become the ODI and 20/20 vice-captain for India, and we've seen during the 20/20 World Cup how brilliant he can be in that format as well.
That being said, its not like Yuvraj has stepped up from a good, solid ODI player to one of the world’s best through a gradual improvement. He was always known to have great promise (evident through his early knocks vs. Australia in the 2000 Champions Trophy and the 2002 NWS final vs. England), however he was extremely inconsistent and during mid to late 2005, when the Indian ODI team was going through its worst patch in the last 5 years (barring this year’s WC debacle), I for one (and I was not alone on these forums) was heavily calling for Yuvraj to be dropped from the ODI team.
I was most vocal about it during India’s tri-series with NZ & Zimbabwe, and during India’s 6-1 series win against Sri Lanka in 2005 (evident here and here He was consistently underperforming, and this was a stage where India were struggling to find their best XI on a consistent basis. Added to that I’ve always been a massive Kaif fan, and as these two were fighting for the same position at the time, I was always backing Kaif (I remember in 2005 digging up a post Liam made in 2003 saying he rated Yuvraj above Kaif, and posting how wrong he was. If he’d dig up that post now 2 years later he’d be able to show how wrong I was). Yuvraj at the time was also reported to apparently have disciplinary problems, including openly having a crack at Dravid who was captain.
His ODI batting average was below 30, and I remember being extremely frustrated when, after a century vs. Zimbabwe, Greg Chappell (who was obviously heavily backing Yuvraj) came out and said something along the lines of “Yuvraj has arrived” or “he’s finally fulfilling his promise.” I can’t quite remember precisely, but I remember thinking it was an absolute joke. Near the end of the SL series, after struggling for the first 5 matches, Yuvi scored a 79* and I specifically remember thinking this may be worse for Indian cricket then good, because it’d guarantee a long stay for Yuvraj. Well since then he has been absolutely phenomenal, and what’s best, unbelievably consistent as well. Rather than a gradual improvement, its as if something clicked inside of him one day (akin to Symonds ever since his ton vs. Pak in the 2003 WC) and he’s become one of the world’s best ODI batsman. I can’t recall too many other players other than Symonds and Yuvraj that went from “promising but pretty much overrated” to “one of the world’s best” in such a quick time, almost skipping the “pretty solid player” stage.
Yuvraj since
I began to really notice his ability to play well when India’s backs were against the wall with this knock vs. South Africa, which I think must have been one of the best counter-attacking ODI innings of recent times. He continued playing knocks like this when the rest struggled such as this, this and this.
You may notice that all those knocks (which I think have been his best since his rise to the top) have come in losses, but whilst I could have posted links to his tremendous match-winning knocks, its these ones in losses which suggest to me he’s the real deal. Rather than being accused of someone that scores when the match is gone, all those knocks actually kept India in the game. It suggests to me his new found hunger to be consistent and play for the team, which was obviously lacking pre-2005.
How good can he get though? He obviously is struggling to make the test team at the moment, and barring a few very good knocks has failed to really impress in the whites with some technical deficiencies exposed on occasion. What pleases me though is his obvious disappointment and frustration with not playing many tests (which he revealed in a recent interview). With Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman obviously ageing and on their way out within the next 2-3 years, he’ll get his opportunity sooner or later. Added to that, he’s still amazingly young for someone that’s been around the international scene for so long. I know there are suggestions that he may replace Laxman soon enough in the test arena, and I do get the feeling that a few tests in a row of Laxman failing will result in Yuvi replacing him. The selectors are looking to send Laxman on their way, and get Yuvi in the test team as soon as possible.
I personally think he’ll go down as one of India’s best ever ODI batsman come the end of his career. Where does he stand among current ODI batsman in your opinion? How much better can he get in this form of the game? And will he ever have a successful test career?
Its become quite common knowledge that Yuvraj Singh has turned into a fantastic ODI batsman over the last two years. So much so that he’s almost become the marquee player of the Indian ODI batting line-up, possibly taking over from Tendulkar in that sense.
Whilst always a fan of his style, he has probably become my favourite player in international cricket over the last two years, so much so that I am constantly accused by my mates of being homosexually attracted to him due to my fanboy like behaviour when he does anything of any note. The reason for the attention he receives is pretty obvious. He’s an attractive batsman to watch, extremely aggressive, still very young and probably what’s best about him IMO, is his counter-attacking style when his team is staring down the barrel. Today was another example where after steadying the ship following a few wickets, he chose the perfect moment to counter-attack just when Pakistan were beginning to get on top. Added to that is his obvious athleticism, quick-running between the wickets, fantastic fielding and ability to roll his arm over when needed (aspects which were always there) make him a perfect modern ODI player. And now he's become the ODI and 20/20 vice-captain for India, and we've seen during the 20/20 World Cup how brilliant he can be in that format as well.
That being said, its not like Yuvraj has stepped up from a good, solid ODI player to one of the world’s best through a gradual improvement. He was always known to have great promise (evident through his early knocks vs. Australia in the 2000 Champions Trophy and the 2002 NWS final vs. England), however he was extremely inconsistent and during mid to late 2005, when the Indian ODI team was going through its worst patch in the last 5 years (barring this year’s WC debacle), I for one (and I was not alone on these forums) was heavily calling for Yuvraj to be dropped from the ODI team.
I was most vocal about it during India’s tri-series with NZ & Zimbabwe, and during India’s 6-1 series win against Sri Lanka in 2005 (evident here and here He was consistently underperforming, and this was a stage where India were struggling to find their best XI on a consistent basis. Added to that I’ve always been a massive Kaif fan, and as these two were fighting for the same position at the time, I was always backing Kaif (I remember in 2005 digging up a post Liam made in 2003 saying he rated Yuvraj above Kaif, and posting how wrong he was. If he’d dig up that post now 2 years later he’d be able to show how wrong I was). Yuvraj at the time was also reported to apparently have disciplinary problems, including openly having a crack at Dravid who was captain.
His ODI batting average was below 30, and I remember being extremely frustrated when, after a century vs. Zimbabwe, Greg Chappell (who was obviously heavily backing Yuvraj) came out and said something along the lines of “Yuvraj has arrived” or “he’s finally fulfilling his promise.” I can’t quite remember precisely, but I remember thinking it was an absolute joke. Near the end of the SL series, after struggling for the first 5 matches, Yuvi scored a 79* and I specifically remember thinking this may be worse for Indian cricket then good, because it’d guarantee a long stay for Yuvraj. Well since then he has been absolutely phenomenal, and what’s best, unbelievably consistent as well. Rather than a gradual improvement, its as if something clicked inside of him one day (akin to Symonds ever since his ton vs. Pak in the 2003 WC) and he’s become one of the world’s best ODI batsman. I can’t recall too many other players other than Symonds and Yuvraj that went from “promising but pretty much overrated” to “one of the world’s best” in such a quick time, almost skipping the “pretty solid player” stage.
Yuvraj since
I began to really notice his ability to play well when India’s backs were against the wall with this knock vs. South Africa, which I think must have been one of the best counter-attacking ODI innings of recent times. He continued playing knocks like this when the rest struggled such as this, this and this.
You may notice that all those knocks (which I think have been his best since his rise to the top) have come in losses, but whilst I could have posted links to his tremendous match-winning knocks, its these ones in losses which suggest to me he’s the real deal. Rather than being accused of someone that scores when the match is gone, all those knocks actually kept India in the game. It suggests to me his new found hunger to be consistent and play for the team, which was obviously lacking pre-2005.
How good can he get though? He obviously is struggling to make the test team at the moment, and barring a few very good knocks has failed to really impress in the whites with some technical deficiencies exposed on occasion. What pleases me though is his obvious disappointment and frustration with not playing many tests (which he revealed in a recent interview). With Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman obviously ageing and on their way out within the next 2-3 years, he’ll get his opportunity sooner or later. Added to that, he’s still amazingly young for someone that’s been around the international scene for so long. I know there are suggestions that he may replace Laxman soon enough in the test arena, and I do get the feeling that a few tests in a row of Laxman failing will result in Yuvi replacing him. The selectors are looking to send Laxman on their way, and get Yuvi in the test team as soon as possible.
I personally think he’ll go down as one of India’s best ever ODI batsman come the end of his career. Where does he stand among current ODI batsman in your opinion? How much better can he get in this form of the game? And will he ever have a successful test career?
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